This invention relates to containers for waste, such as medical waste, and in particular to a container having a closure with a pivotal portion which, when closed, may be substantially sealed to the container to prevent leakage.
Medical waste is often a biological hazard, and it is important that medical waste be appropriately disposed of to prevent contamination and possible spread of disease. Thus, most medical containers for disposal of needles, syringes, sponges, gloves and other disposable waste have a closure of some sort so that once the container has been filled, further access is prevented, and the container may then be properly discarded.
One problem with disposal of medical waste is that some medical waste includes fluids. Thus, it is important that the waste container have a seal of some integrity when the container is closed so that the fluids will not leak from the container.
Typically, containers having a pivotal, hinge-type closure have some type of seal affixed to the closure so that when the closure is closed on its associated container, the seal effects an appropriate leak-tight barrier for the container. Often, because of costs, the seal is closed-cell foam gasket which is laid in the underside of the closure for the container and affixed thereto, whether by adhesives, holding in place by extending posts, or otherwise.
When such foam seals are used for a pivotal closure, it has been found that since the closure has a portion which is hingedly pivoted relative to the remainder of the closure, the seal, which adheres to the underside of the closure, stretches as the closure is pivoted. When it stretches, it becomes dimensionally thinner, and when the closure is locked in place for disposal, often the thinned portion of the seal will leak fluids contained within the sealed container. This result is highly unacceptable, and thus pivotal closures often cannot be used where liquid waste is involved, unless complex or expensive seals are used which do not stretch or otherwise lose any of the integrity of the seal when the closure is pivoted.